9 December 2009, 1st SPG day

Land acquisition in West Africa

In response to increased investment in West African land, the Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC/OECD) is leading a regional dialogue with key stakeholders.

Pressures on West African land

Reconciling development and investment policies

Bamako (Mali), 9 December 2009

Bringing together some 200 participants, the Bamako meeting highlighted a large diversity of viewpoints on opportunities and risks related to land transactions. Discussions paved the way for consensual solutions and proposals for co-ordinated actions in West Africa, calling for more synergy between regional institutions.

Regional study on regulatory frameworks for land transactions in West Africa

Co-ordinated by the SWAC Secretariat, this study analyses coherence between national legal frameworks, local practices (especially local conventions), land transaction procedures and regional investment policies in West Africa. Drawing on five case studies (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Senegal), policy recommendations for decision-makers will aim at promoting investment without restricting land access rights of the local populations. Outcomes of this study will be available in April 2010. > Contact: leonidas.hitimana@oecd.org

The OECD Policy Framework for Investment (PFI) applied to agriculture in Burkina Faso

Building on the OECD Policy Framework for Investment, the SWAC Secretariat and the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs (DAF) analyse how to set up an incentive framework for investment in West Africa. The PFI has already proved to be an effective tool in several countries in Asia, Latin America, North Africa and southern Africa. It proposes political and structural reforms which could particularly support national investment policies as well as the establishment of the regional mobilisation programmes within the framework of the Regional Partnership Compact for the implementation of ECOWAP/CAADP. An analysis will be conducted in Burkina Faso in 2010 at the request of the Burkinabese government. > Contact: leonidas.hitimana@oecd.org

The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Companies, West African perspectives

These guidelines propose a set of legally non-binding recommendations signed by 39 adhering governments (representing all regions of the world and accounting for 85% of foreign direct investment). Within the revision process of these principles (starting in 2010), the SWAC Secretariat, together with the team of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, will make proposals on how these recommendations could be applied within a West African context. In particular, the SWAC proposes to organise a meeting which will bring together all concerned actors involved in the implementation of these principles and West African actors. > Contact: marie.tremolieres@oecd.org